1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of mortuary science, and in particular, it is concerned with a novel article and the method of its use in connection with enclosing and protecting entombment caskets for above-ground burial in mausoleum crypts of all kinds, including chapel crypts, garden crypts, and chapel garden crypts, hereinafter referred to generally as mausoleum crypts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known, in mortuary science, to provide, for enclosing a casket, a burial vault for below ground interments which is made of two pieces of "synthetic plastic resinous material" which are fitted together to provide an air-tight seal. Such an article, together with a practice for its use, is disclosed, for example, in any of the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,208,188; 3,208,186; and 4,154,031. The prior art contains a burial vault made of fiberglass, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,183; and it contains a burial vault made of polyethylene or other molded plastic material, as in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,031.
In the prior art as exemplified by the above-mentioned patents, the burial vaults have invariably been of a bulky two-piece construction comprising a rigid base and a rigid dome-shaped lid, and these articles have been intended for use in underground burial, replacing massive concrete structures which were at one time used in order to provide the necessary load-bearing characteristics which are important in connection with such burial.
In the prior art, there has been, prior to the present invention, less of an appreciated need for providing a further air-tight enclosure around the casket in the case of having the casket protected in a mausoleum crypt. Experience with the maintenance of mausoleum crypts has revealed, however, that there may be, in the practice of this method of the long-term protection of remains, as much of a need, if not more of a need, for the use of an additional air-tight sealing structure around the casket, regardless of whether the casket itself is of a sealing or a non-sealing type. Persons charged with the maintenance of the mausoleums and crypts are well aware of the necessity of providing ventilation means for the crypts, and of spending money on various means which are used to mask or suppress odors or to control insects and other pests.
The prior art, with the exception of my own prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,632, has not provided a self-ventilating, air-tight casket enclosure structure for use in an above-ground mausoleum crypts which eliminates or greatly reduces the costs associated with odor suppression and insect or other pest control. Furthermore, construction costs for typical mausoleum crypts have been prohibitively high owing to the fact that relatively great amounts of concrete have been required for the construction of each crypt chamber for receiving and supporting the caskets. Also, the concrete of the crypt chambers was subject to deterioration from contact with corrosive chemical compounds produced by the decomposition of the casket and the remains therein. Unless strict measures were followed to ensure complete and long-term sealing of the caskets within suitable casket containers before inserting the containers into the crypt chambers, such corrosive compounds would quickly act to degrade the concrete of the surrounding crypt chambers. My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,632, however, provided a significant step in overcoming the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art.
The present invention provides a still greater improvement over the prior art. By being extremely light in weight (i.e., less than 9 pounds in weight as compared with 96 pounds for the casket enclosure of my prior patent, for example) and simple in construction, the present invention provides a minimum of construction requirements for strength, where such is necessary, as well as a compact structure which may be easily and inexpensively shipped and stored. Thus, not only are the casket enclosure costs reduced, but so too are the costs of constructing and maintaining the crypt chambers which receive and support the casket enclosures of the present invention. And, mausoleum space can be more efficiently used since a greater number of caskets may be stored in each mausoleum since the need for extensive concrete frameworks for supporting the caskets may be advantageously replaced by more compact rack structures to serve the same purpose. Preferably, such rack structures would be formed of prefabricated, lightweight and corrosion-resistant elements which can be subsequently erected in a crypt or mausoleum to provide a compact support rack system for supporting the enclosed caskets of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a two-piece casket enclosure for mausoleum crypts, which is of simple construction and extremely light in weight.
It is further object to provide a casket enclosure which is hermetically sealed and capable of venting decomposition gases from the enclosure when necessary.
It is a further object to provide a casket enclosure which is easily, compactly and inexpensively shipped and stored.
It is a further object to provide a casket enclosure which is adaptable to crypt chambers of simpler and less expensive construction than is presently employed.
Still other objects and advantages will become apparent when one considers the attached drawings and the description of the invention presented hereinbelow.